Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

CLIMATE CRISIS

Climate activists turn Rome’s Trevi Fountain water black

Climate activists in Italy turned Rome's famous Trevi Fountain black on Sunday, saying floods that have killed 14 people in the country's northeast were "a warning".

Published: 21 May 2023 15:32 CEST
Climate activists turn Rome's Trevi Fountain water black
A view taken in 2020 shows a deserted Piazza di Trevi and the Trevi fountain. Photo: ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP.

Climate activists in Italy turned Rome’s famous Trevi Fountain black on Sunday, saying floods that have killed 14 people in the country’s northeast were “a warning”.

Activists from the anti-climate change organisation Last Generation climbed into the landmark fountain and poured a vegetable-based carbon liquid into it, before being escorted away by police.

READ ALSO: Italy’s flood death toll rises to 14 as government urged to act on climate

The Trevi Fountain’s most iconic moment saw Swedish actress Anita Ekberg go for a dip in Federico Fellini’s film ‘La Dolce Vita’.

The protest came as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in Emilia Romagna to visit areas devastated by floods described as the worst in a century after six months worth of rains fell in 36 hours.

Over 36,000 people have been displaced by the disaster, with costs in the hundreds of millions of euros.

Mattia, 19, who did not give his last name, was cited as taking part “because the horrible tragedy experienced in these days in Emilia Romagna is a forewarning of the black future that awaits mankind”.

Last Generation began carrying out peaceful but disruptive protests in Italy last year ahead of the general election, urging politicians from all parties to make climate change their priority.

The protests in Italy are part of a series of actions across Europe to focus attention on climate change.

Activists have thrown soup, cake, mashed potatoes or washable paint at heritage and culture sites and artworks in museums.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

CLIMATE CRISIS

‘Extreme’ climate blamed for world’s worst wine harvest in 62 years

World wine production dropped 10 percent last year, the biggest fall in more than six decades, because of "extreme" climate changes, the body that monitors the trade said on Thursday.

Published: 26 April 2024 08:48 CEST
'Extreme' climate blamed for world's worst wine harvest in 62 years

“Extreme environmental conditions” including droughts, fires and other problems with climate were mostly to blame for the drastic fall, said the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) that covers nearly 50 wine producing countries.

Australia and Italy suffered the worst, with 26 and 23 percent drops. Spain lost more than a fifth of its production. Harvests in Chile and South Africa were down by more than 10 percent.

The OIV said the global grape harvest was the worst since 1961, and worse even than its early estimates in November.

In further bad news for winemakers, customers drank three per cent less wine in 2023, the French-based intergovernmental body said.

Director John Barker highlighted “drought, extreme heat and fires, as well as heavy rain causing flooding and fungal diseases across major northern and southern hemisphere wine producing regions.”

Although he said climate problems were not solely to blame for the drastic fall, “the most important challenge that the sector faces is climate change.

“We know that the grapevine, as a long-lived plant cultivated in often vulnerable areas, is strongly affected by climate change,” he added.

France bucked the falling harvest trend, with a four percent rise, making it by far the world’s biggest wine producer.

Wine consumption last year was however at its lowest level since 1996, confirming a fall-off over the last five years, according to the figures.

The trend is partly due to price rises caused by inflation and a sharp fall in wine drinking in China – down a quarter – due to its economic slowdown.

The Portuguese, French and Italians remain the world’s biggest wine drinkers per capita.

Barker said the underlying decrease in consumption is being “driven by demographic and lifestyle changes. But given the very complicated influences on global demand at the moment,” it is difficult to know whether the fall will continue.

“What is clear is that inflation is the dominant factor affecting demand in 2023,” he said.

Land given over to growing grapes to eat or for wine fell for the third consecutive year to 7.2 million hectares (17.7 million acres).

But India became one of the global top 10 grape producers for the first time with a three percent rise in the size of its vineyards.

France, however, has been pruning its vineyards back slightly, with its government paying winemakers to pull up vines or to distil their grapes.

The collapse of the Italian harvest to its lowest level since 1950 does not necessarily mean there will be a similar contraction there, said Barker.

Between floods and hailstones, and damp weather causing mildew in the centre and south of the country, the fall was “clearly linked to meteorological conditions”, he said.

SHOW COMMENTS